Intro to Jan Brett

We have begun our study of author/illustrator Jan Brett. Her detailed illustrations bring setting and characters to life and we will enjoy exploring her books into the new year. This week we read The Hat and learned to identify the characters and the setting of the story. The girls created their own hats and were able to retell the story using the characters. We learned about Jan Brett's favorite character, Hedgie the Hedgehog, and discovered him hiding among the pages of each of her books! We also watched a video in which she taught us how to draw Hedgie. It was especially exciting to pull out our watercolors to put the finishing touches on our drawings.

We want to thank all of our wonderful parents for sharing your daughters with us during these past few months! We have loved getting to know each and every one of your girls and we can't wait for the exciting months ahead! Have a wonderful and restful holiday and we will see you in the New Year!

Brush Bots!

Last week, the girls completed their Brush Bots by adding eyes and other details.   Then they tested them in a variety of Winter Olympic arenas like the luge, figure skating, cross country skiing, and speed skating.  When we return from winter break, kindergarten will participate in The Hour of Code.

From the Library

Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader

by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith
originally printed in the March/April 2001 issue of The Horn Book Magazine

1. NEVER READ where your children can see you.

2. PUT A TV or COMPUTER in every room. Don't neglect the bedrooms and kitchen.

3. CORRECT YOUR CHILD every time she mispronounces a word.

4. SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES every day after school so your child will never be bored.

5. Once your child can read independently, THROW OUT the PICTURE BOOKS. They're for babies.

6. DON'T PLAY board games together. Too Dull.

7. Give little REWARDS for reading. STICKERS and plastic toys are nice. MONEY is even better.

8. Don't expect your children to enjoy reading. Kids' books are for TEACHING vocabulary, proper study habits, and good morals.

9. Buy only 40-watt bulbs for your lamps.

10. Under NO circumstances read your child the same book OVER and OVER. She heard it once, she should remember it.

11. Never allow your child to listen to BOOKS ON TAPE; that's cheating.

12. Make sure your kids only read books that are "challenging". EASY books are a complete WASTE OF TIME. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine.

13. Absolutely, positively NO READING IN BED.

Oh What Fun!

This has been a week full of gingerbread! On Monday we read the story, The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst. The girls had fun creating their own gingerbread girls using cut paper. The creativity was endless!

On Tuesday we had a ball decorating two large gingerbread houses and individual gingerbread girls. Thank you to our wonderful parents who helped us get the houses decorated!

On Wednesday we took a field trip to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for a performance of "Ellington's Nutcracker". We heard selections from Duke Ellington's re-imagined Nutcracker and enjoyed performances by dance group, Step Afrika. The girls enjoyed it all. The ride on the big yellow school bus was a hit as well!

The rest of the week was spent thinking about where our gingerbread girls would run if they got loose in the school and talking about patterns. We created patterned mittens to decorate our classroom for the coming winter and also created individual pattern mitten books. 

Whew! There is never a dull moment in kindergarten! Don't be surprised if your daughters are more exhausted than usual! 

Code Talk

This month, each girl continued to work at her own pace in  Kodable.  Everyone learned how to use a color condition block and some even began learning how to use loops!  But we are not finished with our coding.  In December we will participate in the Hour of Code.  To learn more about the Hour of Code click here!

The girls have also added to an ABC journal using an app called My Story. As the students learn new letters throughout the year, we will continue to add to the journal.

WE ARE THANKFUL EACH DAY FOR OUR BRYN MAWR FAMILIES

Thank you for sharing your wonderful families with us. 

It was a special day for each of us. 

Each day your children bring the gifts of joy and wonder 

to Bryn Mawr how fortunate we are!

Learning About the Story of the First Thanksgiving

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving in our classroom this week. We have been busy learning about the story of the first Thanksgiving and talking about the things we are grateful for. The girls have created a Thanksgiving word wall with words such as Pilgrims, Native Americans, Mayflower, Plymouth, England, and corn. They are having fun putting together a Thanksgiving book using their new knowledge. We are especially looking forward to Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Tuesday, November 25th. We can't wait to share our classroom with our special visitors!

Practicing ordering numbers and playing games to make it fun!

Fall Fun!

A wonderful Halloween celebration! 

                                               Our focus this week in science has been

                                                              changes in the leaves. 

                                           The girls learned the basic concept of why the                                                                                                             leaves change color.

                                     We introduced 3 trees while taking a fall walk on campus.

                                        We now have very excited, observant scientists 

                                                  who can identify the leaves below.

                                           HAVE FUN IDENTIFYING THE LEAVES.
                                YOU MAY ASK YOUR DAUGHTER FOR HELP IF NEEDED!

                                                                 

A focus of symmetry in nature continues.

The girl's lovely, unique symmetrical trees 

now decorate the room. 

A few activities to practice our "popcorn words."

Art: Explosion Day

Emma: First, we used oil pastels. 

Olive: We used the oil pastels around circles in our painting. 

Charlotte: We used watercolor to make it explode.

Art: Mindfulness Painting

The girls have started a large work that will use almost every medium in the studio before it's finished! Today, they painted with tempera paint. They painted around circles and within circles.  They painted around circles until the circles connected making a new shape like when friends join together to play.  The girls connected the paint rings around the circles to the core value "mindfulness" because everyone is included!